Retribution
by whitewolf221
Summary: Chase and Kim are enjoying their mini-vacation away from CTU when they find they have to defend their cabin from an unexpected visitor. This story takes place sometime between the second and third seasons.


DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine, though I wish they were. :-) They, and the world of 24 are owned by Fox. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit.

Yeah! My first fan fic! I usually write original fiction, but I love the show "24", and so it seemed natural to write a story in that universe. Please review. Let me know how I did.

I had no idea how to rate this, so I rated it R because of a few choice words in this story. Now, on with it! G>

RETRIBUTION

by Patrick Null

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"I want a dog, Chase."

I roll over and look at her. Kim is lying beside me, the covers bunched up just under her plump breasts, her body slicked with love-making sweat, her bangs plastered to her forehead. At that moment, I can't help but think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

She smiles under my scrutiny and looks away. "A big dog, too. I don't want a little yipper that nips at your feet. I want a big dog. A guard dog."

"A woman after my own heart," I reply.

"So, can we get one?"

"When is this going to happen?"

"After we marry and move into a house together."

"Kim, your father doesn't even know we're dating."

"So?"

"So, he would have a heart attack if we mentioned marriage. Either that, or he'd shoot me."

She grinned. "He'd probably shoot you."

I sigh, roll out of bed, and walk naked to the window. "Kim, I'm serious."

"Well...we ARE going to tell him, right?"

I don't respond. I don't know how to respond. The woods outside of the cabin are silent, the grass shimmers with early morning dew. We had taken this mini-vacation to get away from CTU, the inter-office politics, the stress of being a CTU employee. I love my job, and so far, Kim loves hers, but sometimes...sometimes you just need to get away. And here Kim was bringing up a topic that I wanted to ignore, that I wanted to sweep under the figurative carpet until the appropriate time. Even here, I can't escape such issues.

"Chase?"

I pause. "Yes. Eventually."

"Why not now?"

"I'm just not ready."

The bed creaks as she sits up, and I can feel her eyes boring into my back. "When will you be ready?"

You don't understand is what I wanted to tell her. Your father has enough on his mind. Do you know that he's fighting a coke addiction, Kim? You haven't noticed, but I have. I work with him, and Jack had to shoot up many, many times just so he wouldn't get himself killed by Salazar.

What came out was "Kim, I work with Jack day in, day out. You know how he can be. He loves you, he's very protective, and he would feel like he was losing you. Now, can you please let me tell him in my own way, in my own time?"

"Yes. For now."

"Thank you. Now, can we please enjoy this d--"

And that's when I see it. A movement. Before I can spot what it is, it's gone. It could've been a rabbit, it could've been the wind stirring the bushes, but my gut tells me it's not.

I've learned to trust my gut.

I turn from the window, and put my jeans on without bothering with underwear.

"Chase? What are you doing?"

I don't respond as I sit on the bed and step into my shoes. I take the .357 from the bedside table, check to see if it's loaded, and turn the safety off.

"Chase? You're scaring me."

"There's someone outside, Kim."

"What? Who?"

"I don't know. It could've been the groundskeeper, it could've been a squirrel. I'm going to check it out. This is the hazard of being a CTU employee. You're always paranoid."

"I'm going with you."

"No, you're not."

"You can't stop me, Chase."

"Yes, I can. And I will. You work with computers all day, Kim. You're not in the field. You're not trained for this. This is what I do. If you want to survive, take that book you've been reading, and pretend to read. If he happens to look in the window and sees you behaving in a way that is not normal, you might as well hold up a big, flashing neon sign that says 'We know you're out there!' Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." I stand up and move to the door.

"Chase?"

I turn back, annoyed.

"Be careful."

I nod and move through the living room. The fire in the fireplace has dwindled to ashes, but it doesn't matter. Adrenaline is keeping me warm. There's only one window, and I go to it, brushing aside the curtains. I see nobody. I crouch-walk to the front door, reach up with my hand, and pull the door open, pointing my gun out into the open with my other hand. Nothing but bushes greets me. I flatten myself against the door jamb, look right, then left, then move across the porch and down the steps. The gravel crunching tells me it was a mistake to wear shoes. It sounds like artillery shells in the silence.

But no one comes. I look left, right, and then point my gun up into the trees. No one. I creep out a few more feet until my line of sight passes the corner of the house, and it is there that I can see the entire yard. I see nothing except for surrounding cabins, and a beat up, abandoned car in the middle of our back yard(the owner told us that if we could figure out how to fix it, we could keep it). No animals, no sign of anybody whatsoever, and that's when I see it--a shadow underneath the car.

"Got you," I mutter as I kneel down and point my gun under the Buick. Two beady eyes stare at me before a cat runs out and scampers up a tree, hissing.

"The hell?" I say as I stand up. An uneasy feeling has started in the pit of my stomach, and my hands are trembling. That is something that has never happened to me before.

I look back toward the cabin. "Maybe it WAS my imagination…" I say right before my heart clenches. I had left the door open. It was now closed.

"Shit!" I sprint toward the cabin, up the stairs, and that is where I pause, my hand on the doorknob. My CTU training has started to take over. We are taught to not enter a dangerous situation unless you know what to expect. The guy could be in my chair, casually drinking my beer, and pointing his gun at the door, waiting for an amateur to cross the threshold.

And Kim could be in our bed, dying, her blood staining the sheets. Go now!

My hand tightens on the doorknob, and then releases. No, she's not dead yet. My gut tells me she's not. I jump off the porch, run around the side, and peer into our bedroom window. Kim is in bed reading. Good girl. I had foolishly left the bedroom door open in my "white knight" dash outside, but it was now closed. Kim must have shut it. Man, I love her.

I'm about to tap on the window to alert Kim that the stranger is in our house, when I see it. Someone is turning the doorknob ever so slowly, and I point my gun against the window. I am now the predator waiting for the foolish amateur to cross the threshold, but he never does. Instead, the door opens a few inches, but that is all. Seconds pass, which seem like hours, and then I understand. From his perspective, and the angle of the room, he would be able to see the bed without opening the door wider. And Kim. He's probably pointing his gun at her right now....

"No!" I cry. Kim looks up, but not at me. She glances at the door, her eyes widen. There is no time to think. I fire. Glass shatters. She yelps and flings herself off the side, crawling under the bed. I run back to the entrance, and, foolish or not, burst through, only to find the stranger standing in the middle of the living room pointing a gun at me and smiling. I dodge to the side as the rifle's blast deafens me and a bullet punches into my shoulder. I cry and clutch my wound as I try to find somewhere to hide, but there is nowhere to hide.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the man says as he strides toward me, smoke still drifting from its barrel. "I expected better from you." He is wearing cowboy boots that click along the floor, a faded denim jacket, and a brilliant white cowboy hat. He's thin, but well built. He looks like a man who is not used to failure.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"An associate."

"An associate of whom?"

He stops, studies me for a minute. "You're right, there's no harm in telling you, especially since the answers won't leave this house. But first, did you like my trick?"

"What trick?"

"How I lured you in here."

"You didn't..." I begin, but then realize he's right. I guess I had been foolish, an amateur. Kim had been in no immediate danger. He had opened the door and then baited me, realizing I would come barging in here. I had just been outsmarted by a pro.

"You see, every assassin knows from looking in the beginner's guide to assassinations that you always take the guy out with the gun first. And so I did. I took out the bodyguard."

"A bodyguard," I say. Anything to keep him talking.

"Yes, the..." he begins, and then stops, his eyes widening. "Oh, I'm, sorry, pard, but I didn't realize you and the missus were...ok, I can't keep this up any longer. I knew. I knew all along. It's the reason why I was sent here." And then he giggles. He actually giggles like a fucking schoolgirl.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Why, to kill you and the missus, pard. It's a message to Jack from Salazar."

"Salazar?"

"Oh, yes. He's mighty pissed that Jack betrayed him and sent him to prison. Didn't you think his contact extended beyond the walls? He can reach anyone, anytime. Jack is protected by CTU surveillance, and he is at CTU most of the time, so getting to him is near impossible. Besides, that man has a sixth sense. He's the only man I fear."

"Boy, you sure like to talk a lot."

"In a minute, pard. See, a pussy like yourself, and the missus, why I can handle you as the evidence shows. I think it's better this way. Jack can now live with the choices he has made as he copes without a daughter and a son-in-law he never knew he had. The guilt will almost surely kill him."

"You bastard."

He points his rifle at me. "Hey, pard, it's nothing personal. It's business."

I look around for my gun, but it's pointless. It's too late.

"Drop it," Kim says. I had dropped my gun when I was shot, which was now in Kim's hands. My heart leapt with renewed hope.

The stranger half turns. "Well, aren't you a little vision? I can see why Chase has a problem keeping his pecker in his pants."

"Drop it!" The gun rattles in her hands.

"Um, no, I don't think so, ma'am. I came here with a job to do. You can respect that, can't you? I can't go back home without completing my assignment. They'd kill me. So, you see, I'm dead either way. And, quite frankly, I'll take my chances with you." He turned back to me.

"Shoot him, Kim."

"I...I..."

He smiles as he raises his rifle. "See the way she stutters, Chase? The way her hand trembles? The fear in her eyes? She's not like you and me, Chase. She lacks heart, lacks conviction. Why, if we were old pals, I would bet you a steak dinner that she has never fired a gun before, let alone kill someone."

"Do it, honey. I have faith in you! Please!" My voice cracks on that last word.

"You're wrong," Kim says. The steel in her voice makes him turn. "I've killed before. He was the father of a girl I baby sat. He was a murderer, an abuser, and he deserved to die, just like you, so don't think I won't pull this trigger!"

He pauses. "Well, now, honey, I'm glad I didn't bet that steak dinner. You have inadvertently reminded me of something that I almost forgot."

"And what's that?"

"Always get the person with the gun first."

We move at the same time. He's fast as he whirls around, I'm a little bit slower as I charge him, but Kim is faster. The bullet knocks him backward, and he trips over a footstool, clutching his stomach. The rifle falls from his grip, clattering to the ground. I take the gun from Kim's shaking hands and approach our would-be murderer. He stares up at me, blankly, not a hint of emotion on his face. His hat is askew, partially covering his left eye. His denim jacket is soaked through with blood.

"What is your name?" I ask.

"They call me...the cowboy." A bullet ends his life.

We stand there within our cabin, not saying a word as the smell of death that could have been our own, wafts around us.

Finally, Kim speaks. "See? This is why we need a guard dog. He would have taken this asshole down."

And even amid this carnage, I can't help but laugh.

THE END


End file.
